


Moon Child

by bunnyandlynx98



Category: Banana Fish (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Children, Fanfiction, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Kindergarten, Love, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-25
Updated: 2019-04-27
Packaged: 2019-10-15 16:53:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17532572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bunnyandlynx98/pseuds/bunnyandlynx98
Summary: Eiji is a single father. His daughter Mia is 4 years old and is about to attend kindergarten. However she refuses to stay at the facility without her dad. Kindergartener Ash knows how to handle such situations though and manages to keep little Mia in his group. When Eiji comes to get her in the evening she doesn't want to go without Ash and pleads for him to join her and her dad on their way back home, secretly hoping for her father to be happy.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Enfys](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Enfys/gifts).



> I had this idea at 6 in the morning so this probably sucks but whatever. Also english isn't my mother tongue and my Grammar is not the best either so I hope this is readable! Well hopefully reading this makes as much fun as writing it! Enjoy!
> 
> Since I got help from a friend this is dedicated to him and him only!  
> (Smh he doesn't get his own acc on here..)  
> Thanks Enfys for helping me out and for answering all of my annoying questions! Ilu,  
> xoxo Kitty

"I don't want to go daddy!"  
A small pink shoe flew across the room nearly knocking off all of the pictures on the shelf.  
"They're all meanies!"  
I picked up my daughter's shoe and walked over to her. She sat on the floor, arms crossed and a pout on her lips. I sighed as I kneeled down in front of her.  
"How do you know that the other kids are meanies? You haven't even met them yet. I'm sure that they are all nice and fun to play with!"  
I held out her shoe and smiled encouraging, although I didn't quite believe my words myself. To be honest I was afraid of leaving my daughter with complete strangers who could possibly be some crazy bullies or worse! What if the kindergartener was a creepy old man who touches children- I shook my head in terror trying to push that thought far away.  
"Come on, Mia! How about some ice cream before I drop you off?"  
"But daddy it's in the morning!"  
"I know, but today I'll make an exception for you. Go and put on your jacket"  
She jumped up and ran off to the hallstand. A smile spread across my face when she turned around to present the new jacket we recently bought. I got up and grabbed my keys.  
"Are you ready princess?"  
I carefully stroked her blonde hair, which reminded me of her mother. She grinned exposing the missing tooth.  
"Yes! Can I get two scoops of pistachio?"  
She took my hand after I closed the door of our apartment and cheerfully walked next to me. Everytime Mia nearly tripped I caught her, dragging her on her short feet again. I ignored the looks of our neighbours, judging me for having a 4 year old child at the age of only 23 and for raising her on my own. I stopped caring about them two years ago when Mia's mother decided to leave her at my frontdoor. One of the only good decisions she ever made.  
We arrived at our favourite ice cream stand which was open 365 days a year.  
"Hello young Lady!"  
The girl behind the stand was a young lady herself, probably the owner's daughter. She surely wasn't older than me.  
"Do your parents know that your brother is buying you ice cream in the morning?"  
She raised her eyebows in amusement and leant forward, her long black hair falling over her shoulders. I immediately lifted Mia up shooting an angry look at the girl. Of course it wasn't her fault for mistaking me as her brother but everyone always tought that and it was slowly getting on my nerves.  
"Her dad indeed knows and she would like to have two scoops of pistachio ice cream."  
"Oh my bad... Here you go!"  
"Thanks!"  
Mia took the scone and started eating her treat. I gave the girl the money before finally leaving for the kindergarten. I had to put Mia back down after a while since she was getting too heavy for me to carry her around but kept on holding her tiny hand in mine.  
"Look! We're here!"  
I exclaimed in a mixture of excitment and fear when we arrived at the big yellow building. Mia surely wasn't the only one who didn't want to go inside but we both had to or else we had to live on the streets from now on. If I didn't get back to my Job today, my boss would fire me for good.  
"Come on Mia. I promise that if you're good today I will watch all of your favourite movies with you tonight."  
"Really? All of them?"  
I bent down and nodded. She nodded too as I let out a relieved sigh, kissing her forehead. She was a well-behaved kid after all. At least I thought so... The moment we entered the house Mia stopped walking and slumped down onto her knees. When I told her to get back up she just started crying and shouting that I was the worst father ever.  
"My my. Who's making such a scene in the hall? Is it you, Miss?"  
A tall blonde guy appeared behind us acting way too chill for that kind of situation. While I was freaking out on the inside he looked like he had to deal with children like mine everyday. Who was he though?  
"Now do you wanna tell me why you're making such a drama this early in the morning?"

"I don't want to be here…"  
Mia explained while sobbing. I felt bad for putting her through this but I also knew that she was exaggerating things. I looked to the site and met a pair of pretty green eyes. They were like gems, like jade. I got lost in them stunned by the clear colour and the warm feeling that was sent down my spine. I noticed a light smile on the guy's lips before he cut off eye contact to face my child again.  
"Well sweetie, that's just 'cause everything's new. I'm sure that you'll enjoy yourself here and if you don't I'll make sure to tell your parents. Alright?"  
Mia nodded. She stared at the blonde boy as if she was totally hypnotized by his beauty.  
"Great! Now do you wanna say hi to the other's? They heard that we'll get a princess as a new member of our group and were really excited. You shouldn't let them wait any longer! They can't wait to see you! You just have to go through that door."  
He pointed at the door behind his back. I couldn't quite believe it when Mia suddenly jumped up to head straight towards the room without saying goodbye to me. Now I was the one to get left behind and it surely wasn't the greatest feeling. When the boy stood up I followed his movement and got up too.  
"That was way easier than I thought."  
"You shouldn't have praised her as a princess. She'll be commanding everyone around…"  
I raised an eyebrow as he faced me looking quite amused.  
"Sounds like you can't deal with your sister."  
"I'm trying my best to raise my daughter the way I think is best for her and I don't need some kid to tell me that I suck at doing so!"  
I crossed my arms before my chest. People always wanted to intervene or had the urge to explain what I was doing wrong and what I could do better. I was fed up with being scolded for raising a child on my own.  
"I know how to handle her. I know what's good for her and what's not."  
"Okay! I'm sorry. Is it my fault that you look like 12? Geez..."  
"Excuse me? I'm 23! Who the hell are you even?"  
He started laughing. It sounded like some angels singing and I wished to hear more but he eventually stopped to properly introduce himself.  
"I'm Ash. Your daughter's kindergartener."  
I shook his hand in disbelief as he brightly smiled. A beautiful one. I frowned at my own thoughts. My mind was all over the place today.  
"Mia's dad."  
"Huh?"  
"I mean her name is Mia and I'm Eiji, her dad."  
I got a glimpse of his watch and nearly had a heart attack. I needed to go if I wanted to get to work on point but I couldn't just leave Mia without giving her a goodbye kiss. What would she think of me?  
"It's okay. She'll be fine. Leave her to me."  
Ash must had noticed my concerned look because he pulled me to the door and showed me a group of 15 children laughing and playing. Mia was in a corner with two other girls and a boy. They were clearly haing fun which should've reassured me but it just made me sad, realizing that she wouldn't need me anymore but she prove me wrong. She saw me standing in the door frame and immediately rushed over to me.  
"Daddy are you going to work now?"  
I bent down and laid my hands on her shoulders.  
"Yes. Will you be alright?"  
"Yes! You were right! They're no meanies!"  
I forced myself to smile. Of course it made me happy to know that she wouldn't be alone until I got her in the evening but it still hurt a bit. However, I couldn't let her know that.  
"I knew that they would be nice. Now go back and don't forget to be polite! I love you, Mia!"  
"I love you too, daddy! See you later!"  
She kissed my cheek and gave me a brief hug before running back to her new friends. Ash sighed still waiting next to me.  
"You'll see her again. It's not like she's going to war or something."  
"Ah shut up…"  
I muttered under my breath. He didn't have his own kids, he wouldn't know what kind of overcoming it took for me to go out of here on my own.  
"Whatever. Is it true that you'll be getting her around six in the afternoon?"  
"Yes. Right after work."  
"Good, I'll be waiting then."  
He walked away witout explaining what his last sentence meant. I held onto my bag and left the kindergarten in a hurry constantly repeating "She'll be fine" like a mantra to calm myself. Of course she would be!


	2. Chapter 2

I left work half an hour late.

One of my customers - a really old grumpy man- decided to scream at me for screwing up his pictures.  
He claimed that I used the wrong lighting, angle and background even though I did everything like I've always done. I tried to explain this to him and that we didn't even have backgrounds- we never had, there's just a plain white wall in the photo room- but he didn't listen to me. All he did was to shout for my boss.

I let out a long relieved sigh when the man left the shop. Finally! I could get Mia now. They wouldn't make her wait on her own, would they? The thought of my little daughter waiting alone in a dark side alley sent shivers down my spine. I had to get her right now!

I stuffed my things into my bag, not caring about breaking them. They were replacable but Mia wasn't.

"Eiji!"

I stood up straight and looked at my boss in distress.

"You do know that the kindergartener won't kick her out right?"

"H-how did you..."

I stared at him in confusion. Was he able to read minds?

"I am a father too and I've known you long enough to exactly see what's going on in your brain. You've always been like an open book to me."

"All your kids are older than me though."

He started laughing while returning to his office. Before he entered he turned around again and said with an amused grin.

"Indeed but they all went to kindergarten. Now hurry and get your girl. We'll see each other tomorrow."

He didn't have to tell me twice. I put on my jacket and immediately rushed outside to race down the street which led to the yellow building. I arrived after a 20 minute sprint, gasping for air like a drowning person. I knocked at the now closed door still panting like I just finished a marathon.

After a while that felt like an eternity, someone turned on a light in the hall but didn't open the door. Instead I heard a voice asking.

"Who's there? We only open for a dad called Eiji. He's very late though. Hopefully he will-"

"I know I'm late! God, how old are you? I may look like 12 but you act like you're 12!"

I crossed my arms before my chest as Ash unlocked the door so I was able to enter. When I glanced up to him I noticed that half of his hair was braided and that the rubber bands on every end of a braid had small Hello Kitty's on it.

"Daddy! Doesn't Ash look super pretty?"

Mia jumped into my arms. I hid my face in the crook of her neck as I felt the heat flushing my cheeks. He did look pretty and I bet that all the girls ran after him. Drooling like crazy, trying everything to get his attention and whispering sweet words into his ears when they managed to get into his bed!

I shook my head to get rid of these quite jealous and weird thoughts.

"Of course I do! I'm the prettiest prince in New York City- ah in the whole world! And you're the prettiest princess!"

"Really? Does that make daddy the prettiest king?"

Mia giggled as Ash picked her up. He watched me with the same light smile he had when I dropped Mia off in the morning. 

"Yeah it does. And your mom's the queen!"

Did he just indirectly told me that I'm pretty? 

"Mommy gave me away when I was 2 years old. Daddy told me that she wasn't able to take care of me anymore but I don't mind! My daddy is the best!"

"I remember you shouting in the morning that he's the worst."

Ash raised an eyebrow and Mia's face turned red. He really knew how to handle her.

"I didn't mean it!"

"I know princess. Now do you want to go home?"

"I can't!"

I frowned as she pointed at Ash's hair.

"I'm not finished!"

"You can do it tomorrow too. I won't cut my hair during the night, I promise."

Ash wanted to interlace his little finger with Mia's, implying to do a pinky promise but Mia refused to do it. She hid her hands in her armpits and grumbled really loud. It only sounded like a bumblebee passing by though.

"But I want to do it today!"

"Listen Mia. We all had a long day today. We're all tired and I'm sure that Ash wants to go home now too. He stayed here for you longer than expected because I had to deal with some minor inconveniences at work. If that didn't happen he probably would already be in his bed sleeping soundly."

"I don't know what inconvency means."

"Your dad got into trouble."

"No I didn't!"

I exclaimed in anger. This guy got on my nerves like no one else before.

"Can Ash stay at ours tonight?"

I choked on my own saliva. What? Ash slightly tilted his head to get a better look at Mia and apologetically smiled at her. I only noticed now that they both had blonde hair, nearly the same shade of gold. At least it looked like gold in that light. 

I found my voice again and wanted to answer Mia's question but Ash was faster than me.

"That's not a good idea. It's better for me to sleep at home. I don't have my sleepover bag with me either, but next time, alright?"

"Could you at least walk us home? Pretty please!"

She made her puppy eyes and as soon as Ash met her fatal gaze he was caught in it.

"Okay. Let's go."

After Ash checked all the rooms twice and locked the door we slowly walked  in the direction where our apartment was. I took Mia's hand into mine while also carrying her new stufffed animal which she got from Ash and another kindergartener as a welcoming present. I intended to ask her why she didn't hold it herself but before I could even open my mouth I saw that she was holding Ash's hand too, leaving mixed feelings in my stomach.  
Should I be happy that Mia and her kindergartener were already close to each other or should I be scared of him taking away the only light in my life?  
I wasn't sure so I told myself to see what was going to happen next.

"I didn't know you could braid hair, princess. Where did you learn that?"

"Oh Sing taught me!"

"Who?"

She giggled and started to jump like a bouncy ball. I glanced over to Ash who was already looking at me an amused smile on his lips. What was I missing?

"Sing! He's very nice and cool! He can make his Yoyo bounce six times daddy!" 

"He's the boy you saw standing next to Mia before you left."

"And he taught you to braid hair?"

I was astonished by the fact that a four year old was able to braid hair, especially a boy. All the guys in my kindergarten were only interested in those toy cars and fighting over these...

Mia nodded still bouncing up and down.

"And who taught Sing how to do it?"

"Eh..."

She suddenly stopped jumping and drew her gaze at the ground. Did I say something wrong? 

"His older brother did."

"That's nice of him, I guess."

Ash grunted next to me trying not to burst out into laughter while I had no idea what was going on. I carefully encouraged my daughter to keep on explaining the situaton. At first she stood silent, really silent. I couldn't even hear her footsteps as if she was trying to avoid being conspicuous. She eventually spoke up again but with a lower and less enthusiastic voice than before. 

"He isn't nice. Sing's brother is a meanie. He scolded me."

"What? Why?"

"B-because I thought he was a girl. Daddy I didn't say any bad words! His hair is really long- it nearly touched the ground when he leaned over!" 

She opened up her arms to demonstrate me how long his hair was. Surely, this guy needed a haircut. 

"He said that I'm inpolit!"

"You mean 'impolite'." 

Ash spelled out the word for her to understand and I simply walked next to them staring at Ash's long fingers drawing the letters into the air. I caught myself thinking about them stroking my cheeks or brushing through my hair and immediately shook my head while blushing like crazy. What the hell was I thinking today?  
Gladly we arrived at our apartment after 5 more minutes of the kindergartener telling jokes about the long haired dude.

"So, here it is." 

This time I was the one to point behind my back as I turned around to bid farewell to Ash. I grabbed Mia's hand and told her to say goodbye. 

"Bye bye Ash! See you tomorrow!"

"Bye Mia! Take good care of your dad, he seems a bit lost today!" 

He waved at us and disappeared into the night leaving Mia and me behind. She gave me a worried look squeezing my hand like if it was some sort of stressball.

"Daddy, are you okay?"

I softly placed a kiss on top of her head. 

"Yes baby. Let's go inside."


	3. Chapter 3

"Come on Eiji! Just this one time! Just this little thing!"

"It's not 'just a little thing'! Do you even know what you're asking for?"

I look at my best friend with an expression that's a mixture of anger and disbelief.

"You are overreacting..." 

She crosses her arms in front of her and sighs, the anger now dwelling up in her too.  
We sit in our favourite little cafe which is right in front of our apartment. It's a nice place and the boss is really lovely as well. He always gives us extra cookies to our coffee.

"I'm wh- Overreacting!?"

"Shut up! Shit, you don't need to scream! I sit right next to you! Goddamn... It's not like I just asked you to marry me." 

"Right, because it would make sense if you asked me to do that." 

Her long blonde locks fall over her slim shoulders as she reaches forward to grab both my hands. Her pupils are the size of our coffee plates so I assume that she's on drugs again. No wonder she's asking such ridiculous questions.

"Eiji! You love me, right?"

I nod.

"Of course but-"

"Hey! Let me finish... Okay if you do, then where's the problem?"

"Emma, seriously?"

I look her in the eyes. I don't know what she's expecting to hear or what she would like to hear but I can't give her what she wants.

"I've never been this serious in my entire life!" 

"You are high! You don't even know what you're talking about!"

Emma backs away clearly hurt by my harsh words. She leans back and shoots me her death glare. I haven't gotten this one in a long time.

"What if I am? I didn't smoke in my room or in front of college but this doesn't have to do anything with what I want! I'm still able to think straight! I'm not that high. It's just a baby."

"So it's just a baby? Just a living thing that needs a lot of care and time. You can't just leave it alone for a few hours or forget about it because you were too busy doing other, more important things! It needs constant attention. Besides that, with which money are you going to buy all the stuff it needs? Diapers, clothes, a proper bed, some pacifiers, food and maybe some toys later on. We're both college students who barely survive how could you think that a baby is a great idea?"

"You're such a fucking virgin."

Emma jumps up and leaves, like she always does when she doesn't get what she wants. Such a childish behaviour...  
I pay the bill before I go after her. I'm sure she simply ran home to eat two gallons of vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup. 

As I enter our apartment a spoon hits the wall next to my face. I take a step to the side right before the ice box follows.  
I'm kind of amazed at how fast she emptied it.

"You're the worst!"

"Look who's overreacting now... Why do you want it now all of a sudden? You're still young and there's enough time left!"

Emma squints her eyes shooting me another death glare expecting me to explode and crumble down into dust or something.

"Olive has one too! Why can't I have one?"

"Olive?"

I raise my eyebrows. 

"Olive is 29 and married for already 4 years. We don't even sleep in the same room."

" 'Cause you're fucking gay! That's why!"

"Then why are you asking me!? Ask your ex and leave me alone!" 

I dash through the small living room and slam my door shut.  
I can't believe what Emma's saying right now. She only makes it worse with her behaviour and all the cursing. What did I do to deserve this?

Suddenly the door bursts open as Emma interrupts my thoughts about our friendship. 

"That wasn't nice y'know? Do you want me to throw you out and tell you to go back to your abusing mom? Huh? Who took you in when you slept in the damn campus toilets, whining and beaten up like a stray dog? Who applied this disgusting cream onto your wounds everytime you came back from her? "

I stare at my feet not able to look her in the eyes. She knows that I'm uncomfortable with talking about my past but she keeps on going as if she needs to hurt me like I hurt her. 

"Who always calms you down when you wake up screaming from a nightmare? Who always takes the call when your mother is on the phone asking where you are? Do you know what I tell her? I tell her that I don't know. I lie for you 'cause I know how it feels. 'Cause I know how people like her are! I would literally do anything for you, even die, but you can't fulfil me this dream? You don't even have to fuck me! Or touch me! Or look at me! There are many ways to get pregnant without having sex-"

The door bell rings and I automatically flinch at the sudden loud noise as the anxiety kicks in, thinking that my mother is here to take me back home with her.  
Emma shakes her head. I don't know if she's disgusted right now or sorry. I can't read her expression as usual.

"I'll take that."

She walks out of my room leaving the door open. I can hear her unlock and talk to someone but I can't figure out who it is. Probably a friend of her or a neighbour telling us to be more quiet.

I slump down in my chair. Emma's words keep popping up inside my head, tormenting me like they're some sort of punishment for my own behaviour. I sigh heavily.

"Oh lord, please help me..."

☆ ☆ ☆

"Congratulations Mr. Okumura you're going to be a father!"

"I am?"

I swallow hard and stare at the doctor right in front of me. Emma, who sits in the other chair, jumps up squealing like a big mouse.  
I still cant believe that I actually agreed to have a baby with her. It was more of a favour anyway.

Since Emma reminded me of all the good things she did for me I had a hard time refusing her request. She would always come up with the "I helped you out more than once, you owe me one" excuse so it wasn't really in for me to say no. After we had our little fight we didn't talk for a few days.

Although Emma came up to me one day to apologize she still made it clear that she hadn't forgotten what I said and used it against me on every possible occasion.

I agreed that day my mother suddenly stood on our front porch asking where I was and telling Emma that she would curse her if she lies.

"Eiji we did it! Oh my god!"

Emma keeps on squealing into my ears as she hugs me tight. I feel weird about the whole situation. Emma and I are going to have a child even though we don't have any romantic feelings for each other- even though I'm not into girls.

As she said there was no need to touch her or anything. Emma found the best clinic where they used in vitro fertilization with a success rate of 84 %. Thanks to her persuasiveness she had an appointment in no time and now we're here with good news.

However I can't really feel joy, I'm kind of confused and scared.  
Why ,out of all the people Emma knows, did she ask me? Why now all of a sudden? What story is she going to tell the child? Will she abandon me after it's born?

"Eiji!"

Emma tugs at my jacket and points to the door.

"Let's go."

I follow her out of the doctors office. Somehow I feel very weak and nauseous probably because of the fact that I'm going to be a dad in 9 months without having sex once.  
I'm like the blessed virgin Mary. 

"Emma?"

"Yeah Eiji?"

She looks at me from the side no intention to stop walking towards the exit of the clinic. Her face shines bright, brighter than ever and it makes me feel better to see Emma happy.

I carefully take her hand into mine while trying to grin without looking like a maniac. Maybe it won't be bad and we're going to be great parents even though we're not actually together. Maybe we'll make it! 

"Let's do some things couples would do after they found out that they're going to become parents." 

She immediately grins widely and dashes outside heading into the direction of the next mall.  
I have a feeling that this is going to be a very expensive trip.

"Off to the mall we go! To buy some baby stuff!"

Emma let's go off my hand to run ahead. She looks so happy that I can't stop smiling and feeling a bit better, as well as not too scared about our future.  
Her big grin encourages me to walk faster but I immediately stop in my tracks as Emma abruptly turns around to face me.

"Hey Eiji? What do you think of the name-"

She's cut off by a truck. All of a sudden my life turns up side down as I see her fragile body fly across the street and crash into a bunch of trashcans.

"... E- emma... Emma! Emma!!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for that nice cliffhanger pls don't kill me :,)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not too proud of this chapter since it seems a bit rushed and all over the place but the more I tried to make it better the more it got worse. There are probably a lot of mistakes in it too but this is the best I could write in a month :,)... hopefully this is still enjoyable!

I woke up, sweating and breathing heavily from the nightmare I just had. I sat up straight and waited if Mia showed up asking if I was alright but it seemed as if I haven't screamed tonight.

The scenes of my dream kept creeping up into my thoughts making me shiver like a beaten dog.  
Those were the words Emma had always used. I missed her.  
She actually died in a car accident after she left Mia at my place. A drunken trucker fell asleep and crashed frontal into her car. Emma was immediately dead. I always reassured myself that she didn't feel pain but it didn't quite help. Besides that, the pathologist told me that she was drunk herself. It only made me angry knowing that she drove in that state with our baby.

I got up on shaky knees and tiptoed into the living room. It was impossible that I would fall back asleep within the next  hour so I took my camera off the table and looked through my gallery.  
I still had the pictures of Emma being pregnant. She looked really happy in some of them but there were also pictures in which she looked mad or just exhausted. I knew it was a hard time for her too. During the last 4 months the doctor forbid her nearly anything that brought her joy since Mia was in quite a bad condition and he didn't want to risk her life.  
However Emma broke the promise of not drinking and smoking after 8 and a half months of being clean. I found her on the ground in a side alley one day, drunk and a cigarette in hand sleeping like she was a baby herself. After I had brought her home I waited until she was sober again and we had a fight. Well I mostly had a fight with myself since Emma wouldn't listen anyway. She simply told me to get off her back and disappeared into her room.  
It was not until Mia was born that she talked with me again. If she needed anything she asked and got back into her room right after. 

"You were so stubborn... Mia is like that too."

I sighed putting the camera aside. If I didn't stop scrolling through I would start to cry and I didn't want to wake up Mia.

It was already Saturday. The week passed by so fast I couldn't believe it.   
Mia and Ash were already the best of friends. Every evening he was waiting with her until I finsihed work and came to get her. He would also walk us home or talk on the phone with Mia while we were on the way back -after he gave me his phone number on wednesday. I was kind of jealous that they both had built such a strong bond in such short time but I was also glad that I didn't have to find another kindergarten for her. 

I sighed again and laid down on the sofa. Maybe I was able to sleep now. Before I could turn off my camera I already fell into a dreamless sleep. 

☆ ☆ ☆ 

"Daddy. Daddy wake up!"

Mia tugged at my shirt nearly pulling me off of the couch as I groaned.

"What's wrong, princess? You don't have to go to kindergarten today." 

"I know but you promised that we'll go to the playground today!"

I sat up and she immediately crawled up to sit in my lap staring at me with her big brown eyes. She was right, I promised her on thursday morning to go to our favourite playground if she was a good girl and behaved nicely. Since Mia did as I told her she wouldn't forget about it, yet there was a tiny problem.

"Baby, it's raining." 

"You made a pinky promise! Please daddy!"

She whined. I sighed and nodded in a defeated manner. There was no way to get out of this without either getting wet or getting ignored for at least four hours; Mia was pretty good at this already. 

"Okay but you have to put on your rain pants or else we won't go!" 

I thought that she would insist on leaving without them but she simply jumped down and ran into her room to get dressed. Some would say that my plan backfired.  
Eventually I got up to get dressed myself. Afterwards I walked into Mia's room and helped her to get in her pants. 

"Hurry up daddy!"

"Stop jumping around then." 

After I was able to completely dress my daughter we headed to our favourite playground. Mia jumped into every puddle we came across  giggling happily and holding my hand tight. I was glad that I decided to put on my gum boots or else my jeans would've been soaked by now.

As soon as we arrived Mia ran off to the swing. She waited there for me until I came to push her. Eventually she stopped laughing and pointed to a bench at the other side of the playground.

"Daddy look." 

I had to blink a few times before I realized who it was. It was Ash. 

"Let's talk to him, daddy!" 

I followed her, kind of confused. He just sat there in the rain without a coat or an umbrella. His blonde hair stuck to his face, his clothes soaked. I wondered how long Ash was already here. 

"Hi Ash!"

As he slowly looked up Mia stopped in her tracks and hesitated for a second. I could see why. Over Ash's left eye was a long purple bruise.   
Mia gasped and ran to him.

"Did you get hurt while playing here?" 

Ash softly smiled at her comment patting her head and wiping his hair out of his face. 

"No. I had a little fight with my brother. He accidentally hit me."

"Did you run away from home?"

"Mia! Don't be so nosy." 

I carefully pulled her back a bit. When I looked down to Ash he was already staring at me with his pretty green eyes seeming rather exhausted. 

"How long have you been sitting here? You'll catch a cold." 

"Yes. You don't wear your rain pants!"

A chuckle left Ash's mouth as he got up. I felt the strong urge to hug him but I held myself back and just asked if he wanted to come home with us.  
He raised his eyebrows in surprise. 

"Why?" 

"You should change into something dry. I also made too much spaghetti yesterday... would you like to come over for lunch?" 

I slightly blushed and looked at the ground. Did I actually just ask that? 

"I'd love to."

I did.   
Ash smiled happily as well as Mia. She cheered next to me and immediately took Ash's hand pulling him away from the bench. 

"I'll show you my doll's. I have a lot! They all have a name. ..." 

Mia kept on babbling about her doll's as we walked back to our apartment in the pouring rain. From time to time I felt Ash's gaze on me but I tried my best to ignore it.   
When we entered, Mia threw her boots into a corner and stormed off to her room leaving little puddles on the floor. I sighed while getting undressed. 

"She's like a little whirlwind." 

"She's like a grown up tornado!" 

Ash chuckled as I told him to follow me into my bedroom. I rummaged through my closet trying to find some clothes which would fit him. After I found the biggest pants and hoodie I owned, I turned around to give it to him but Ash wasn't paying attention to me. He was looking at all the framed pictures on my nightstand. 

"Is that you? You look so cute."

He pointed at a picture of me from primary school. I immediately blushed again. 

"Y-yeah." 

"And that's your girlfriend with Mia, right?" 

I walked over to him and picked up the picture of Emma holding Mia after she was born. I stared at her happy face for a while before answering Ash. 

"She wasn't my girlfriend." 

I looked up to him, forcing myself to smile a bit. Ash frowned and looked at my hand, searching for something. When he stopped staring, he took a step forward and placed his hand on my shoulder softly putting pressure on. 

"I'm sure you'll find a better girl, Eiji. If she ran away from you, she truly didn't know how great you are!" 

He smiled encouraging and took the clothes out of my hands. 

"Thank you but she didn't run away. She... died two years ago." 

As soon as the words left my mouth I regretted telling him. Ash pulled his hand back as if he got burned and silently gasped. 

"I'm so sorry Eiji. I didn't mean to-" 

"It's okay. You don't need to apologise or pity me. We... we weren't- It's complicated."

"Oh. I understand."

"You really don't need to feel sorry now, just get out of your wet clothes. I'll go and warm up the spaghetti." 

With that I left him behind, walking into the kitchen and getting all of the leftovers out of the fridge. While I put them into the microwave I went to Mia to see if she needed any help with her pants again. She didn't. 

"Mia! What are you doing?!"

I picked up all of her wet and dirty clothes and threw them into her laundry basket. Then I intended to clean up her room a bit but Mia jumped out of her princess cave and stuck to my leg so I couldn't move.

"No daddy! Don't throw away my toys!" 

"What? I won't throw away anything. I'm just going to put them back where they belong." 

I tried to get rid of her grasp but nothing worked, instead her hands just started to hold onto me even tighter. 

"Mia, I promise I will not throw away your toys. I would never do that, okay?" 

She looked up to me, her face wet from crying. I stroked her hair as she let go of my leg again, slowly nodding. 

"Okay daddy." 

"Come on, princess. Do you want to tell Ash that food's ready?" 

"Yes! Ash! Ash! Food is ready!" 

Her face lit up immediately at the mention of her kindergartener. Mia ran off into the depths of our apartment in search for Ash, shouting as loud as the people on the market who try to sell their goods.   
I shook my head in amusement and walked back into the kitchen setting up plates, forks and the spaghetti. 

I had thought about their relationship lately. Mia wasn't very keen of other people my age. I guessed that she didn't want to share me or lose me to another person, but it was different with Ash. She had accepted him the second he came to calm her on her first day of kindergarten. That only happened to my best friend before. Neither to Emma's parents, nor to my boss who's a really nice guy.

Maybe I was able to become friends with another person now. Maybe I was able to have some fun again.   
I sighed at the thought and sat down. Even if Ash and I became friends, we both had to work a lot so we wouldn't see each other very often anyway.

Before I could think about it much longer Mia and Ash came up to the table and sat down too. 

"Thank you for the clothes and the meal."

"Its no problem at all. Really." 

We both smiled at each other awkwardly. After an eternity of staring I managed to look away and started eating. 

Maybe we were able to make it work.


End file.
